We Are Surrounded by Intellectual Property – Until We Aren’t

For which Cruise has to thank genetics, astronomical-odds-beating luck – and rigidly protective copyright laws.

These Intellectual Property (IP) statutes protect the movies in which Cruise appears. Thereby ensuring said flicks are (mostly) commercially available in formats on which he and his cohorts make money.

The reason we mention Cruise specifically – is a scene from his 1988 flick Cocktail. In which he and actress Elizabeth Shue – sit in glorious admiration of the IP all around them. And, of course, the millions of dollars each IP item represents.

(Just millions? Hey – it was the 1980s. Don’t let inflation and economic growth throw you. It’s now billions – and then some.)

Each and every item Cruise and Shue highlight – are protected by patents.

In real life, someone had the very helpful idea – to wrap the ends of shoe laces in plastic. Born was the flugelbinder. (Actually, it’s called an aglet).

And that someone – then patented his idea. Because that’s what you do when you have a good idea. You look to lock it down with the IP protections expressly described in our Constitution:

“The Congress shall have Power To…promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries….”

You can not have a successful economy or country – without private property protections. And by private property – we mean both physical and intellectual.